Within-basin profile variability and cross-correlation of lake sediment cores using the spheroidal carbonaceous particle record |
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| Authors: | NL Rose S Harlock |
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| Institution: | (1) Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK;(2) Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Liverpool, PO Box 147, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK |
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| Abstract: | Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) from the high temperature combustion of fossil-fuels are stored in lake sediments and provide an unambiguous record of industrially derived atmospheric contamination. It has been assumed that a single sediment core provides an accurate representation of SCP accumulation but to date there have been no studies to determine within-lake variability of the SCP sediment record. This paper describes the SCP profiles of ten sediment cores taken from the deep water area of Loch Coire nan Arr, a remote lake in north-west Scotland, UK. Although each core shows the basic SCP profile used for sediment dating in the UK there is considerable variation between cores. The conversion of SCP concentrations to cumulative percentages resolves a great deal of this variation with the result that more accurate cross-correlation and hence date allocation is possible, especially in the post-1945 section of the cores. However, significant departures from the usual SCP profile still reduce the effectiveness of this approach. It is concluded that: (i) SCP profiles from single cores from the deepest areas of the lake usually provide an accurate representation of the historical record of atmospherically deposited pollutants and that inter-core variability or noise does not affect the temporal interpretation of that profile, and (ii) comparisons of total SCP inventories are a better way of comparing historical deposition between sites as the impact of temporary variability is considerably reduced. |
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| Keywords: | fly-ash pollutant record core correlation sediment variability |
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